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Session Fifteen
'' The bonfire burns away the ever-present chill in the air as you approach. The scent of herbs and spices fills the air. Around the bonfire, a number of metal rods have been impaled into the ground, each holding some kind of food. Two pairs function as spits which each have two fish skewered onto them, while another two each hold metal pots which hang from hooks at the top of the rods while steam seeps from beneath the lids. Every so often, one of the tieflings around the fire will raise a hand and mumble a few words, and magical hands will turn the spit, or lift the lids to stir the contents of the pots. Nearby, though not so near as to risk the fire, there is a crate of apples, and a crate of wine, and a tall basket containing what appears to be utensils. A woman stands from where she had been quartering apples, stabbing her knife down into the ground as she rises, and carries the apples away towards the horses by the lake. The Vistana who had greeted you sweeps her arms out dramatically from where she sits, as if showcasing the arrangement.'' The Party *Alyssandra, the Human Paladin/Warlock. *Dakira, the Dragonborn Bard. *Devi, the Drow Paladin. *Kalil, the Half-Elf Shadow Sorcerer. *Tansy, the Tiefling Light Cleric. Around the Bonfire The party sat down to eat and drink with the Vistani, though some were more reluctant than others. While Dakira and Tansy shared one of the fish, and Ismark was given a skewer of cooked mushrooms from one of the pots, Alyssandra refused on grounds of suspicion, and Devi ate from her own rations. The Vistana who had first greeted them asked whether they had fish where they came from, a question which the party treated as nonsensical, saying that of course they had fish where they come from. The Vistana protested their shrugging the question off as obvious, saying that some places didn't have fish, as she had been to many places, and met many people not from those places, and some had never even seen a fish. Devi remarked that even the Underdark had fish, though they were more likely to eat or enslave you. Alyssandra brought up that she had visited the Underdark on a few occasions during her work, and had met the fish people. Davi asked why she had been there, and Alyssandra explained that she had spent a month destroying a sect of Kiaransalee's followers who were kidnapping humans from the surface to use in necromantic rituals. Devi said that she was lucky it had only been a month, as most surface dwellers never returned from the Underdark, such as the paladin she had met who led to her arrival on the surface. Sitting across the fire, Ismark asked what, exactly, the Underdark was. Alyssandra replied that the Underdark was a terrible place where people like Devi come from. Devi, glaring at Alyssandra, explained that the Underdark was a large series of caves many miles underground. As Ismark wondered if the Underdark might extend beneath Barovia, Devi turned her attention fully to Alyssandra, frustratedly pointing out that the surface had the same behavior and features of the people of the Underdark, but Alyssandra judged the drow much more harshly, when at least drow society was honest about their flaws and cruelty. Alyssandra replied that she yes, she had seen the worst of her own kind as well, but she had never known a drow who was no inclined toward evil, nor a human who acted as evilly as a drow. Pulling her attention away from Alyssandra, Devi responded to Ismark's question, saying that while she would normally assume so, the fact that they were unable to leave Barovia she was not sure the Underdark was there to begin with. Tansy asked how you would find the Underdark, if it was only a matter of digging down and hoping you hit a cave, which Devi said that some incautious miners did, occasionally, though it would not end well for them. She continued, saying that there were many entrances to the Underdark which, while not hidden, most people simply knew to avoid. Bartering On a different side of the fire, finished with her half of the fish, Dakira asked the Vistani if they had any supplies she could trade with them, which one of them answered in the affirmative, though it would depend on what she wanted and what they had. The Vistana led her to one of the wagons, with Tansy following after a moment of internal debate as she didn't want to leave Alyssandra and Devi alone together, and he knocked on the door to it before heading back to the fire, and another of the Vistani climbed out of the wagon. When the two announced their intention to trade, the Vistana said that coin was only worth so much, but if they had anything to trade she would be willing, especially as they were not in need for much at the moment. Tansy and Dakira dug through their belongings, with the Vistana looking over their shoulders to give commentary. In the end, Tansy gave the bricks of incense which the Vistana said that Madam Eva would like, and Dakira traded over her spare weapons and armor. In return, the Vistana dug through the wagon until she found most of the items Dakira had requested, namely two ropes, one which had a grappling hook on the end, as well as a crowbar. Handing them over, she pointed to another wagon and told Dakira that she could get food from there, and that while the Vistani could keep and preserve anything they wished to, some could serve just fine as travel rations. Dakira thanked her, and went to the wagon, where she found another of the Vistani inside, fast asleep. She knocked on the door, causing the Vistana to wake up and, after asking what she wanted, the Vistana gasped, looking at Dakira with wide eyes, declaring that she was one of the people Madam Eva had mentioned. The Vistana quickly moved through the wagon, searching through the various containers. Dakira asked who this Madam Eva was, as she'd apparently predicted their arrival even though none of them had ever met her before. Packing food into sacks, the Vistana explained that Madam Eva was a seer, specifically their seer as she was their leader, and that she didn't need to meet the party to know about them. Finishing the packing, the Vistana added that, however, the party should probably meet her. Dakira traded over a few gold pieces, which the Vistana took and set on a shelf, and said she would like to, asking where they might find Madam Eva. The Vistana directed her towards the large tent near the lake, and after trading thanks and farewells, the Vistana waited until Dakira left the wagon before settling back down to sleep. Elsewhere While Dakira shopped around them, the rest of the party spoke of home. Ismark said that the way they all spoke of the Underdark, it didn't sound all that unlike Barovia. He stared into the bonfire, saying that he had met very few outsiders, but that he still had heard some speak of their homelands, or heard of them second-hand, and he trailed off with a sad expression. Alyssandra asked what places he had heard of, and Ismark replied that while he didn't know the names of many of the places, he had heard the names "Dyvers," "Khorvaire," and that the wizard who had come through last year had claimed that he had traveled to many other Planes besides this one, which, he added, would probably sound more impressive if he knew what that meant. Alyssandra explained that Planes were, essentially, different worlds, and that if this wizard could travel between them he must have been very powerful. Ismark nodded, saying that the wizard had claimed himself as being powerful, then sighed, saying that all of these places sounded so different from Barovia, and he often wondered what it must be like in these places, or indeed anywhere that was not Barovia. Tansy piped up to say that her home, Silverymoon, was very nice, and that the most evil she had ever seen there were mundane evils, things like prejudice and people being mean to each other. Ismark asked her about it, and Tansy went on to explain that Silverymoon is the capital of the Silver Marches, and is a large circle of a city, with a river cutting through the middle. She said that she was born there, and that while it wasn't always wonderful, it was better than some places would have been. With a wistful sigh, Ismark said that it certainly sounded wonderful, and Tansy offered that maybe, someday, she could find a way to take him there and show him around her temple, and the way that the morning's light coming through the glassteel wall sent rainbows all through the main hall. From her place around the fire, Devi said that Tansy's home did sound beautiful, and that she wasn't sure if anyone would care to see it, but that even the caverns of the Underdark could be beautiful such as how larger caverns are lit by heating certain stalagmites, which also serve as clocks since they cool off at predictable intervals. Alyssandra spoke up, reluctantly adding that there were quite a few beautiful places in the Underdark, such as the caverns full of crystals that she traveled through, and that she had taken a chunk of crystal with her before she left. Devi continued, saying that while Alyssandra was right that the Underdark was highly dangerous, Tansy might find it relatively safer to visit should she ever wish to, with her Infernal heritage allowing her to see in the dark, and that many drow dealt with demons and devils. Ismark said that both places sounded beautiful and he would like to see them, though the Underdark sounded too dangerous to simply visit. He asked if there were other places and people in the Underdark, and Devi replied that there were many. Some, she said, would be more familiar, such as dwarves and gnomes, but others such as Illithids would be less familiar to him. Ismark shook his head saying that none of those existed in Barovia, aside from outsiders who become trapped inside Barovia, such as the party. Alyssandra brought up the number of spirits she had seen during the midnight march, which included many strange beings, and wondered why there were so many, and to what end. Ismark shook his head and shrugged, saying that he did not know, but that he knew many outsiders had come through Barovia, and that since the land and the mists themselves answered to Strahd's will, it was likely his doing. Tansy grumbled that she was going to punch Strahd in the face, to which Ismark responded saying that was likely one sure way to join the ghosts. Alyssandra firmly said that they would not be joining them, and that there would be no punching Strahd. Goalposts Dakira rejoined the party in time to hear Tansy ask if she could at least dream about punching Strahd. Alyssandra, in a tired tone of voice, said that she could. Devi leaned in and offered to swing at Strahd with her hammer while Tansy punched him, an idea that Tansy was in favor of. Ismark looked up at Dakira's approach and asked if she had found what she needed, and Dakira replied that she had, and that she was all set. She also said that she found out where the seer they had been hearing about was staying, and that she believed the party should visit Madam Eva before they left. One of the Vistani, who had overheard Tansy and Devi's talk of punching Strahd, gave an amused and drunken chuckle, saying that Strahd doesn't let just anyone inside his castle, and they were unlikely to get an invitation to punch him. Tansy winked, saying she had all the invitation she needed as she tapped her mace. Dakira, initially sharing Tansy's enthusiasm, sobered somewhat as she looked at Ismark across the fire, leaning in toward Tansy to remark that they may not have an invitation, but the party did have something - or someone - that Strahd wanted. The Vistani glanced at them, asking if they truly did, and Dakira snapped at him to mind his own business before settling down. She thanked him, and the rest of the Vistani, for their hospitality, but that they should be going soon. Addressing the rest of the party, she asked if they had anything else they needed to do, because unless they did, she wanted to go meet the Madam Eva and go, before it got too late. Devi and Alyssandra both agreed, and along with Tansy and Ismark they stood and made their way toward Madam Eva's tent. Weyward The tent's flaps were left partially open, and the party stepped inside to find the tent lit with magic fire which gave the interior a reddish glow while incense filled the air with an earthy scent. Sitting hunched over a crystal ball, the party found Madam Eva, an elderly tiefling with bright gold eyes who announced that they were right on time. She called for all of them to come in, and not just stand around the entryway, and the party moved further into the tent. They greeted her, and Dakira asked if she really had been expecting them. Madam Eva said she had, and that just as she foresaw the storm coming in the evening, she saw them leaving the village of Barovia with the Devil's eyes at their backs. Dakira asked what she meant by "seeing" it, and Madam Eva said that the future is full of events, some different and some the same, and that through fate, or chance, or through fate and chance, these events might or might not occur. She, Madam Eva explained, was one such person who could see such things, and that she had seen the party many times. When Alyssandra questioned what she had seen, Madam Eva tapped at her crystal ball, staring down into it before looking back to Alyssandra with an answer. She said she had seen "the usual": death, despair, loss, success, freedom. Alyssandra followed up with a question as to how she saw the future, and Madam Eva chuckled, saying that many Vistani are so gifted, though some more than others, and that they have many ways to read the future, though the primary ways are cards, clouds, and crystal. She went on, saying that they had shown her the party going on to do great things. Or, she noted, they could do nothing, as they had shown her those futures as well. She added that those were far less interesting. When prompted further about the cards, Madam Eva continued, saying that they had told her that the party would arrive, and where they might go from here, implying many possible scenarios. She said that the most interesting one was the one where they left Barovia far behind them. But, she added, only if they chose to chase that future. Things Gained * Two sacks, each with three days worth of rations for one person. * Two ropes. * One grappling hook. * One crowbar. * More knowledge of where some of the party come from. * More knowledge about the other "outsiders" who have come through before them. * An audience with Madam Eva. * Knowledge of many potential futures, along with one where they are able to leave Barovia and return home. Developments The party had a nice meal. Dakira was able to trade with the Vistani. Devi and Tansy spoke of their homelands. The party learned more about Barovia's existence, and the people who are pulled into Barovia. The party has encountered Madam Eva. Category:Curse of strahd Category:Tser pool encampment Category:Session